


everything changes, everybody changes

by damedanbo



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2001), Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Gen, Queer Themes, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-01-23 18:39:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18555535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/damedanbo/pseuds/damedanbo
Summary: "That's not fair," Tohru said softly."Huh?""It's not fair that you're not allowed to be upset... If something hurts you, you have every right to get mad, or be sad, or yell. Every person should have the right to be angry or to cry. If we can't cry..." Tohru sniffled, wiping at her eyes. "If you can't cry, I'll cry for you!"Kyo was silent for a long moment, staring at her. "Idiot!" he cried, "that's not even what I meant! Stop crying!"





	1. year of the riceball

The first year living with the Sohma family was probably the happiest of Tohru's life.

 

Not just because she was living with kind people and having fun every day. That was a part of it, for sure, but there was something else that filled her with light, made her glow from every corner every time one of the boys disappeared into a puff of smoke.

 

She had kept it a secret until now. Uo-chan and Hana-chan knew, but that's because she had been friends with them for so long. Her mother had known too, but Tohru had never been able to keep a secret from her anyway. The boys... they didn't know. It was something she couldn't say to them.

 

But it made her so happy, keeping her secret around Yuki and Kyo and Shigure--because every time she bumped into one of them, they would change, and that change was the proof of her existence as a girl.

 

Not that she hadn't known she was a girl before that, but everyone felt disillusioned sometimes. The dysphoric gap between Tohru and her life as a young woman was a difficult one to bridge. Living among men, surprisingly, was just the ticket to make her feel better about herself, her dissociated femininity. 

 

And they didn't even have to know! Tohru had been afraid the first time Kagura went in for a hug--what if she transformed too; what if she disappeared into a puff of smoke and a boar was left behind--but it hadn't happened. The Sohma curse completely validated her gender, every single time.

 

She couldn't admit it, but she was guilty of occasionally hugging one of the boys on purpose, just to check to make sure it was still working. It always did, they would turn, and then Kyo would scold her for being clumsy and not watching where she was going, and she would just beam and beam at him.

 

It wasn't until that winter that the truth came out, and then her world changed again.

 

"Kyo, the bath is free," Shigure called, walking into the room with a towel around his neck. His hair was dripping wet, and steam rose from it into the cool night air. He stopped behind the redhead and pushed a foot into his back, rocking him forward insistently. "Didn't you hear me?"

 

"I'm busy!" Kyo snapped, spinning around to smack at Shigure's leg. "Yuki can take the next bath."

 

"I'm busy," Yuki echoed, largely tuning them out in favor of his homework. Tohru sat across from him, working on her own worksheets, and Kyo was beside her, watching some special on the tv.

 

"You don't look that busy," Shigure said, kicking Kyo again. "Surely this can wait? You smell awful."

 

"You--! Mind your business, Shigure!"

 

"It's that puberty juice, I tell ya."

 

"I said shut up!"

 

Tohru looked up from her worksheet, watching the two of them verbally spar. She didn't always quite get what the Sohma men were arguing about. Sometimes it was clearly regarding their curse, and she tried to politely mind her business and only intervene when things got violent. Other times, like now, she had absolutely no idea what the boys were going on about.

 

"Can't you keep it in your pants for once?! Nobody's interested in hearing about that!" Kyo hollered, in response to something Tohru hadn't quite caught.

 

"Oh? Talking about that again, are we? Are you jealous of my penis, Kyo?"

 

"THAT--" Kyo leapt to his feet, face beet red. 

 

"That's enough, Shigure," Yuki sighed, closing his workbook. "Leave him alone."

 

"I don't need you defending me, rat boy!"

 

"Shut up, stupid cat."

 

"I'll kill you! Both of you! I'm going to beat you both into the ground!"

 

"Let me know when you're ready, then."

 

"My, my, boys are so violent. Aren't they, Tohru-chan," Shigure sighed, sitting down across from her as Yuki got up to fight Kyo. Tohru nodded absently, watching the two boys battle it out. It worried her so much when they fought. At least it was over with quickly, as Yuki suddenly kicked Kyo in the chest and knocked him through the paper door. Kyo sat, breathing hard and clutching his chest, then turned over and scampered away, yelling something rude over his shoulder.

 

"Honestly," Shigure sighed, "stop wrecking my house, you two." Yuki watched the cat go, then turned to Tohru.

 

"Will you check on him?"

 

"H-huh? Me?"

 

"He won't like it if I go. He might be hurt."

 

Tohru stared at him. Sure, it was a good thing that Yuki was worrying about Kyo, but... since when did he  _ care _ ? They'd always been at each other's throats; now he wanted her to go make sure Kyo was still breathing?

 

"O-of course I will!" Tohru cried, standing up and balling her hands into resolute fists. "I'll let you know how he's doing!"

 

"I don't really need a status report," Yuki sighed, as Tohru took off down the hall. Shigure chuckled to himself.

 

"You might hate Kyo, but you two are really alike, huh?"

 

"I didn't ask for your analysis, Shigure."

 

"It's funny though. Who would have thought this family would have so many trans guys in it?"

 

"You're going to get your ass kicked someday, and you're really going to deserve it."

 

"Oh, lighten up Yuki!" Shigure sighed, watching him stalk out of the room. "Honestly, these kids..."

  
  


Tohru hurried from the house, bundled up in her coat and boots. She pulled her gloves on as she slipped and slid her way down the icy path, looking around at the blue December night. Winter had settled heavy over the property, blanketing everything in a thick layer of snow and ice. On the plus side, that meant that Kyo had left a trail where he'd stormed through the snow drifts.

 

On the downside, it would appear he wasn't wearing shoes.

 

Tohru nodded to herself, hurrying along the path of footprints Kyo had left behind. She carried Kyo's boots with her, from where she'd grabbed them in the entryway, and she stomped through the snow drifts, one big step at a time. 

 

"Kyo-kun! Kyo-kun, are you out here? It's really cold! You should come back inside!"

 

No answer, but the trail of footprints suddenly stopped at the base of a tree. Tohru stopped beneath it and looked up.

 

"Kyo-kun..."

 

"Leave me alone! I don't need your help!"

 

"It's freezing out here! And you left your shoes inside."

 

"So? Why do you care?"

 

"Because--! Because I care about you, Kyo-kun! You should at least come put your boots on!"

 

Kyo didn't respond. Tohru sighed, tied the laces of Kyo's boots in a knot, and started to climb up the tree. She hadn't climbed anything in a long time, and it was cold and her fingers struggled to find purchase, but she was getting somewhere!

 

Kinda.

 

"Here," Kyo sighed, reaching down to grab Tohru's hand and pull her up into the tree beside him. "You're so-- Ugh. Give me those."

 

Tohru panted and grinned at him as he yanked his boots on. Kyo shivered, rubbing his arms, and stared off towards the house.

 

"Do you want to share my coat?" Tohru asked, and Kyo glared at her.

 

"I'm not gonna share a coat with a girl." But he did scoot an inch closer, and when Tohru unzipped her coat, he leaned in to share half of it.

 

"Kyo-kun... Um, I wasn't really listening before, but whatever Yuki-kun or Shigure-san said that made you upset, I'm sure they didn't mean it! And... Yuki-kun asked me to make sure your chest was okay!"

 

"Ugh." Kyo scowled, looking away. "He always takes the high road, doesn't he."

 

"I don't really know, but..."

 

"Listen. Whatever you heard or didn't hear tonight, you can just forget about it. It's not a big deal. I'm stupid for getting upset." Kyo fell silent, looking out over the snow again. 

 

"That's not fair," Tohru said softly.

 

"Huh?"

 

"It's not fair that you're not allowed to be upset... If something hurts you, you have every right to get mad, or be sad, or yell. Every person should have the right to be angry or to cry. If we can't cry..." Tohru sniffled, wiping at her eyes. "If you can't cry, I'll cry for you!"

 

Kyo was silent for a long moment, staring at her. "Idiot!" he cried, "that's not even what I meant! Stop crying!"

 

"I can't! I'm sorry!"

 

"Don't be sorry, just stop! You don't need to cry for me!"

 

"I can't help it," Tohru wailed.

 

"Why are you making her cry up there," Yuki called from the base of the tree. Kyo hissed at him reflexively. Yuki shot him a cold look, and began hauling himself up into the branches, settling in on the branch jutting out from the other side of the trunk.

 

"Honda-san."

 

"Y-yeah," Tohru sniffled.

 

"You don't need to cry. He can cry for himself just fine. Put this on," he snapped at Kyo, tossing him his coat. Kyo snatched it out of the air and glared at him, shouldering it on.

 

The three of them sat in the tree, legs dangling, as the cold night bore down on them. Tohru's sniffling punctuated the silence.

 

"Honda-san," Yuki said after a few minutes, "we should head back to the house. You'll get sick out here."

 

"I don't mind," Tohru sniffled. Her teeth chattered as she spoke. "B-besides, it's not that cold."

 

"Go with him, idiot," Kyo snapped. Tohru looked up at him with her big, wet eyes, and moved to begin climbing down the tree. She immediately fell to the ground, landing on her back in the snow.

 

"Idiot!"

 

"Honda-san!"

 

The two boys leapt out of the tree and landed beside her, helping her up and checking her for injuries. Tohru sat up, dazed, and accepted the hands that pulled her to her feet--one from either boy. Kyo was hollering words she couldn’t quite make out, and Yuki looked worried.

 

"Stop yelling at her, stupid cat," Yuki sighed, slinging Tohru's arm over his shoulder to lead her home. "She's hurt enough without you screaming at her."

 

"I'm not--Shut up, damn rat!"

 

"Ehehe..." The two of them stopped to look at her. "You two are back to normal..."

 

"Let's get you home, Honda-san," Yuki suggested, sweeping her off her feet and into a princess carry. Kyo fumed behind them all the way back.

 

"Tohru!" Shigure cried when the three of them made it back inside, "What did those beasts do to you out there?"

 

"I fell out of a tree," Tohru said, embarrassed.

 

"Kyo, did you push her?" Shigure gasped.

 

"As if! She's clumsy enough by herself!" Kyo stomped away, storming up the stairs and slamming his bedroom door behind him. Shigure sighed, shaking his head.

 

"Well, aren't you glad you went looking for that jerk? Tohru-chan, why don't you take a nice hot bath to warm up?"

 

"I think she hit her head," Yuki said, leaning in close to look at Tohru's eyes. "Maybe you can call Hatori."

 

"Oh, an excuse to call Hatori! I'll be right back!" Shigure hurried away, and could be heard making the call from the next room: "Hatori, wake up! Tohru-chan is hurt, and you should bring beer for sure. I'll call Ayame!"

 

"You probably have a concussion," Yuki said. "I'll bet you had the wind knocked out of you too."

 

"Uh-huh," Tohru said, still dazed. She allowed herself to be dragged to her room, laid down on her bed, and covered up.  "Yuki-kun, thank you for being so kind."

 

"Of course," Yuki said. "You've taken care of me before too."

 

"Not just to me... to Kyo-kun."

 

Yuki froze, but Tohru didn't notice. "It was so nice of you to ask me to check on him... I'm glad he wasn't hurt."

 

"Right," Yuki said softly, straightening up. "Honda-san, try not to fall asleep. Hatori will be here soon."

 

_ But I'm so sleepy, _ Tohru thought as she completely disregarded his advice and drifted off.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tea party

Some dreams are so weird, you can do nothing but think to yourself “this might as well happen.”

Tohru found herself in one of those dreams now. Sitting to her left was Ayame Sohma, wearing an overtly flamboyant three-piece suit with a rhinestone bedazzled tophat. Across from her sat Kisa Sohma, who had been dressed in some kind of tiger striped outfit, complete with little fabric ears atop her head.

Tohru herself had been coerced into wearing some great puffy blue gown, stockings, and smart shiny black shoes, though she had insisted on politely removing her shoes at the entrance to the room where the four of them sat now, sipping their tea.

Hatsuharu was the only one dressed normally, in his everyday long-sleeved t-shirt and black jeans. He was the odd man out in a scene that appeared to be straight out of Alice in Wonderland.

“Um,” Tohru said, fidgeting her hands in her poofy skirt, “so what are we all doing here?”

“I just thought it would be nice to have a little chat,” Ayame said cheerily. “When was the last time the four of us got together, hm?”

_ Never? _

“He just wants a reason to break out his new tea set,” Haru said, continually adding sugar to his cup. It appeared to be more sucrose than tea now; it had thickened into a paste-like goo in the cup, but still he added more.

Kisa caught Tohru’s eye, and quickly looked away. She still wasn’t over her shyness, but she had taken great strides towards being around other people. Now, though, she looked mildly uncomfortable, sitting in her tiger costume, no doubt insisted upon by Ayame just as Tohru’s gown had been.

“Um,” Tohru said again, just as Kisa started to address her with ”nee-chan--”

“Oh! Go ahead, Kisa-chan,” Tohru said.

“Nn, no, you go ahead.”

“I was just going to say, your outfit looks really cute.”

Kisa squirmed, looking away.

“Kisa-chan doesn’t like it,” Ayame sighed. “Tohru-chan, you like your gown, right?”

“Uhh…” It made her feel like a doll. But it had been so generous of Ayame to make it for her. “Of course I do.”

“Of course she does!” Ayame cheered. Haru continued adding sugar to the mound in his cup.

“Nee-chan,” Kisa said, “actually… I wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh!” Tohru said, “of course! What about?”

Kisa looked away.

Ayame sighed. “Kisa-chan, you wanted to ask Tohru about girl stuff, right?” He waved his hand at Tohru. “Of course, don’t mind us. We’re here for moral support.”

“What did you want to ask me, Kisa-chan?” Tohru asked, catching Kisa’s eye and smiling at her. Kisa flushed.

“Um… Lately, when the other girls at school talk…” Kisa trailed off.

“Uh-huh?” Tohru asked, almost excited at the prospect of girl talk with Kisa.

“They… they say… They talk about periods!”

Perhaps if Tohru had been drinking her tea, she would have spat it out just then. Ayame, who was drinking, appeared completely unaffected. Hatsuharu was attempting to stir his cup of solid sugar.

“O-oh… I guess girls your age do talk about that stuff, huh?”

Kisa shrunk in on herself, looking near tears. “And I’m… never going to have one, so I…”

“You don’t know that!” Tohru cried, and Kisa lifted her head. “Modern medicine has made great strides in recent years! Who knows what the future holds? Someday, you and I both could have periods too!”

“Nee-chan…” Kisa’s eyes shone, either with tears or awe.

“They’re not all that great, you know,” Haru said, scooping some of the sugar mass out of his cup and spooning it straight into his mouth. “Cramps suck. Bleeding sucks.”

“But--!” Kisa said, hands balled into determined fists, “if me and nee-chan can someday do that… M-modern medicine…” She was beginning to deflate again.

“You can have mine,” Hatsuharu said. “I don’t want them, so when they figure out how to transplant ovaries and uteruses, you can have mine.”

Kisa stared at him for a long moment, then dove forward for a hug. Tohru clasped her hands together happily.

“I’d say that’s enough period talk for one tea party,” Ayame said cheerily. “Tohru-chan, I have more dresses for you to try on, you know!”

“Y-yay,” Tohru said weakly, as Ayame all but dragged her off to the changing room.

The day was a flurry of outfit changes and tea parties. Kisa was noticeably happier after their talk, and Tohru felt her mood lift as well. Ayame coerced Hatsuharu into drinking some actual tea, and they all laughed at the disgusted face he made.

 

“It was good to see you all!” Ayame called from the shop entrance, waving them off. “Come back anytime!” Kisa and Tohru waved back. Hatsuharu stood with his hands in his pockets, slouching slightly, as he did sometimes. 

As they walked, Kisa slipped her little hand into Tohru’s, and smiled up at her. “Y-you know, my dream… is to be a mom someday.”

Tohru blinked, and beamed back at her. “You’re going to be a great mom, Kisa-chan.”

Haru came up behind them, patting both their heads at once. “Yosh, yosh.”

The moment could not be dampened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter. What're you gonna do? You gonna hit me with that bat? Better make it count. Better kill me in one shot.
> 
> I'm working on a lot of fics right now... trying to catch up in the new anime, because I fell behind with work and all. y__y

**Author's Note:**

> Do I know where I'm going with this? No. Do I know why I wrote it? Also no. 
> 
> I guess this is kinda just a series of vignettes about Fruits Basket But Everyone Is Queer And You're Gonna Like It!
> 
> I wasn't sure about posting but I was told to so -__-


End file.
